THE FENIAN HUMBUG.

Southland Times, Volume III, Issue 201, 12 January 1866, Page 3

THE FENIAN HUMBUG.

{From the Chigaco Tribune.) The Fenian movement to overthrow the British Government and liberate Ireland from English rule is the most laughable, as well as absurd project which at present amuses the public. It is the best Irish comedy now on the boards. And what adds to its drollery is the scare the Fenians have created from Land's End to John o' Groats, among the bold Britons. A fleet is being sent to the western coast of the "Gem of the Ocean" to cruise for the eight steamer loads of liberating Fenians said to be leaving our shores for the " old sod," and large reinforcement of redcoats are going into the Tipperary country to stop the Fenian drilling at night in the mountains and bogs. The British Government are acting on the maxim, perhaps, that "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure;" but the whole thing is very ludicrous and laughable. We can sympathise with the intense longing of the Fenians for the liberation of their native country from British rule, but we cannot shut our eyes to the preposterous inadequacy of their means and strength to accomplish the overthrow of the power of England. There is but one solitary chance for the independence of Ireland, and that is, to secure the help of the United States. If the American Eepublic ever goes to war with Great Britan, the Fenians will then have an opportunity to give the project a trial. But it is by no means probable that Ireland could be wrested from Great Britain, even with the utmost assistance of this country. Consider the following facts and figures : Ireland lies within almost a stone's throw of Great Britain, which stretches away to the north and south of it, half surrounding it. Great Britain has a thousand ships-of-war and three thousand merchant vessels, hundreds of them steamers. She can pjaea a. ship of

has all her own fortified ports as a base ol operations. Now for the physical strength of the contending parties — Population, in 1861, of England and Wales ... ... 20,000,000 Population of Scotland 3,200,000 Scotch-Irish loyal to Great Britain ... 1,300,000 Total British strength 24,500,000 Population of Ireland ... 6,000,000 Deduct loyal Protestants... 1,300,000 Rebels to Great Britain 4,700,000 Majority against Irish rebels ... 19,800,000 The Irish are a brave, pugnacious -T ace, but they make no better soldiers than the English, Scotch, and Scotch-Irish. Is it not absurd to affirm that forty-seven Celts are a match for two hundred and forty -five Britons ? Bear in mind that the British would be provided with an abundance of money and warlike stores wherewith to arm and support a million of fighting men, while the Irish are poverty stricken and almost destitute of everything, except their naked hands. The English would be united as one man — the whole Protestant population of the " three kingdoms" would act in solid mass, while the Catholic rebels would be divided, as the priests are generally opposed to any rebellion of the kind. Under £hese circumis it rot clear that a revolt can terminate only in the same way as all previous Irish rebellions, viz.: hanging and transportation of the leaders and additional misery of the people ? In case this country should espouse the cause of the Fenians, it would be necessary to throw an invading force into Ireland of not less than 400,000 men, besides half-a-million of arms for the rebels. Could this be done in the face of the whole British navy, three thousand miles away, across the stormy Atlantic? Would even that number of men, safely landed, be able to seize and hold the island ? It would be necessary, in the first place, to crush the British navy. Could that job, be done at such a distance? If England should maintain her supremacy around the Irish coast, she could cut off reinforcements and supplies, while pouring in legions of fresh troops to reinforce her army in Ireland. Are we quite sure, in case of our invading Ireland, that we should not have France also to fight, and perhaps Spain and Austria? Reverse the case. Suppose the Irish in this country sympathised with the British, could 400,000 English soldiers, aided by the Cathotic-Irish in the "United States, conquer this country ? Of course not. The great Southern Cofederaey started with a resisting force of eleven millions of brave, and desperate, well-armed men. The "South" was tenfold more inaccessable and difficult to invade than Ireland would be to Great Britain. Our armies had to traverse a country twenty times larger than Ireland, covered with dense forests, traversed by large rivers and steep mountains, and filled with swamps ; while Ireland is an open and comparativelylevel and narrow island. "When the civil war began, our rebels were in complete possession of the whole country south of the Potomac and Ohio, except some little territory in the border States. They were fully armed and well provided with munitions of war, and were supported by the powerful machinery of twelve State governments, all sanguine of success and terribly resolved to achieve it. Can the Fenians commence operations with half-a-million oi organised armed soldiers, the complete possession of Ireland and five hundred million dollars' worth of military stores ? Our G-overn-ment had not a dozen armed ships at command when the war broke out. Great Britain can begin with one thousand. And yet, with a supporting population of six millions less than Great Britain would start with against the Catholic-Irish, our G-overnment battered to pieces and absolutely annihilated, inside of four campaigns, that "powerful rebel Confederacy. The unvarnished truth is, that the rebels of the single state of Missouri cost us more effort to subdue than any Fenian rebellion can possibly cost G-reat Britain ; and yet Missouri was hardly a drop in the bucket compared with the whole job of crushing the Confederacy. In talking thus plainly to our Fenian friends, our purpose is to keep them from getting their necks into a halter, by pointing out the utter folly and insanity of the scheme for the invasion of Ireland. The far better and wiser course is for them to induce and assist their relatives in Ireland to migrate to this country, which is a -vastly better country for a poor man than Ireland would be, even if rid of British rule. Here there is elbow room and opportunity for all, good wages and plenty of work, free institutions, where every Irishman can vote once or oftener, white bread and beefsteaks, free schools, free religion, no tithes, and a fine chance for the "childers" to take rank with the highest and best in the Republic. About half the dissatisfied Irish have emigrated to this country already ; let the other half follow their judicious example, and then the long moan over Ireland's wrongs will cease to pain the public ear, and the Irish will be in secure possession of independence and of all their inalienable rights. If this is not considered satisfactory, it is the best that can be done, and if rejected, our Irish friends may travel further and fare worse.